Why I donateāand why Iām committing to a dynamic pledge
Background: Iāve been donating since 2018, but I only signed the giving pledge last week. Thanks to @Amalie Farestvedt šø from GWWC, Anthony Wong and others for helping me with the decision.
My reasons for donating
Like most EAs, I want to do good, and recognize that my money can go a hell of a way to helping other people, animals, or preventing bad things from happening. Iām so grateful that there are incredibly impactful opportunities out there.
But, less commonly in EA, I also thinkā¦ that I shouldnāt have as much money as I do. I think the world is built on inequalitiesāand sure, the division of labour is powerful, bringing me the laptop that Iām writing on, but I think a lot of what I have is also only possible due to the exploitation of other people and animals. For the record, I donāt come from old money. I just grew up in a privileged enough environment to go to a good school, have a supporting family and one that could push me in the right directions. But these things were already only possible because of advantages that depended on historical injustices. In this sense, I donāt think Iām just lucky to have what I have, I also think itās not rightfully mine, and I ought to try to correct those injustices by giving.
Where I donate
Most recently Iāve donated to:
Wild Animal Initiative. I think that wild animal suffering is by far the biggest source of suffering in the world today, it is incredibly neglected, and the main challenge for tractability is getting the ball rollingāwhich is exactly what WAI are doing.
Effektiv Spendenās AI safety fund. I wish there were a GiveWell for AI safety. I find it very hard to judge for myself which AI safety orgs are the most effective, so I simply choose to defer to others for this one.
My income-dynamic pledge
Just last week I took the trial pledge, to give 1% of my income for 5 years, and to give 10% after that.
But I also pledged the following:
To
- always give at least 1% of my expenditure.
- give 10% of my net income once I earn the median income in my city
- give 60% of my net income once I earn double the median income in my city
This is, in essence, a dynamic pledge. Here are my reasons for this set up:
I think donating 10% of your income can actually be hard if your income is low. If, with a given standard and cost of living, you are only able to save 10% of what you earn, then 10% donations might prevent you from saving. But I think saving is important for personal security, which is in turn important to allow you to be flexible in terms of changing location or career. Having a low salary can even be a desirable thing, e.g. if you want to spend a significant amount of time doing high-impact volunteering.
Despite the above, I think itās good to keep the habit of donating even if you canāt donate much at all (and even if you donāt have a meaningful income).
The further pledge reflects better how I think it is morally correct to donateāi.e. to set a ceiling above which you donate all additional money that you earn. This allows people to be comfortable/ālive well, but says that you donāt need more than that, and would do better to donate it. The only problem isā¦ what is āenoughā isnāt totally clear, and your perception of it might change over time. Also, if you reach that threshold, you might lose any incentive to work for a pay rise, thereby donating less than the counterfactual. Lastly, I think that our perception of whatās enough is highly dependant both on the cost of living and the relative wealth of those around us (it feels bad to be comparatively poor, even if you live in a wealthy place). For that reason I based the thresholds on the median income of the city.
The 10% pledge is normally defined as 10% of gross income (i.e. before tax). Net income (after tax) seems far preferable to meāI have no control over that money that I give up to tax, and tax rates vary greatly between countries and states. In a high-tax area 10% of your income could be quite a lot.
I fear regret, so I made a pledge which I consider quite conservative. I expect to donate more than Iāve pledged, but I feel confident that I will do at least this and wonāt come to regret it. Iām also confident that when the trial period runs out, my income will be high enough that Iāll be giving 10% anyway.
In short: I think that dynamic pledges are both less demanding for the pledger at a low income, and more morally correct at high incomes. I would be excited if GWWC made an official option for a pledge of this form, and would like to hear if other people have made similar kinds of pledges.
Just wanted to say here is at least one EA who agrees with āI donāt think Iām just lucky to have what I have, I also think itās not rightfully mine, and I ought to try to correct those injustices by giving.ā In the EA GHD scene at least, I think similar sentiments arenāt that rare, but perhaps you havenāt met too many who think along those lines.
I love this sentiment and am happy to see it here on the forum. I will say though that (depending on our personality type) it can be unhelpful to dwell on this too much, or it can lead to guilt/āparalysis which can stop us actually improve said injustice....
I work on a low salary and agree that can be a great way to go for periods of time. I do agree that 10% of a low salary can be tricky, but on the other hand 10% of a low salary aināt that much hahaha
Hey, totally agree that the sentiment isnāt always helpfulāitās one that motivates me, but itās definitely not what I say in my elevator pitch to encourage others to donate!
It was lovely chatting to you in Melbourne @Tristan Katz! Thanks for this write-up and sharing your thoughts with others:)
Thanks for sharing this. It is the first time for me to hear about this dynamic pledge.
You mention giving 10 percent once you earn the median income in your city, and 60 percent once you earn double the median. Have you also thought about what you would give between those two points, when you are earning more than the median but not yet double it? Would you keep giving 10 percent until you hit the higher threshold, or do you have a gradual plan in mind?
My intention would be to gradually increase. So in the past I was earning just slightly above the median, but gave 15%. In general I think itās good to have an idea of what income youāre comfortable with, and then increase donations significantly as you pass that point. But I set the bar really high here just because Iām aware that my perception of what is enough might change in different life-stages.
To be honest I think my model is super crude and probably not ideal, I would really like to see other models like this!
Thanks for answering, makes sense.
@Philip Popien took the āProgressive Pledgeā, whereby he gradually increases his pledged percentage upon any salary increase.